Our fondest memories involve beginnings and endings

In my most recent post, I stressed the importance of taking a few moments every once in a while to mentally transport yourself back to a memorable time in your life -- whether it's your days in college or the first months into your relationship -- via pictures or music. Doing so stirs up positive feelings, especially if, for whatever reason, you want to mentally escape from the present.

Another observation I've made is that our fondest memories seem to involve starting or ending something. This makes complete sense, as we often commemorate beginnings and endings:

When babies are born (the start of life)
Paying respects to someone who has passed (end of life)
Starting grade school
Leaving grade school
Starting college
Leaving college to enter the real world
Starting a new relationship
Marriage
Your first sexual experience (losing your virginity)
Your first kiss
Your first date
Starting a job (especially your first one)
Resigning and leaving a company after being there a long time

Even though getting divorced or ending a relationship may not be cause for celebration, such experiences end up seared in our minds -- for better or worse.

Change in life is inevitable -- our lives change, we change, and other people around us change. However, it's the memories planted firmly in our minds and hearts that let us turn back to an earlier page of our life's story.

Perhaps you find yourself these days working as an accountant, married with 2 kids, and living in a big house in the suburbs. But 10 years ago, you were just a college kid who didn't know what he wanted to be when he "grew up."

Though we should always embrace change -- it is, after all, part and parcel of becoming an adult -- let us not forget our humble beginnings. We only live once. You don't want the only time you reminisce about the most memorable experiences in your life to be on your deathbed. Give yourself the opportunity to flashback to an earlier stage of your life every so often. It's our experiences that helped shape us into who we are today.

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